Connect QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite, or Rillet

Connect your accounting system when you want Ari to plan from your real books instead of estimates. cfo.ai pulls your profit and loss and balance sheet, refreshes them every night, and never writes anything back to your accounting system.

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Before you start

You need:

• Admin access to your accounting system, or a teammate who has it. The table below shows what each system asks for.
• A started trial or an active plan with a free connection slot. QuickBooks Online, Xero, and Rillet are standard integrations. NetSuite is a premium integration and needs the Enterprise plan. See Plans and billing.
• Time for the first load, from a few minutes to a day or more, depending on the system and the size of your books. See How long the first load takes.

If someone else holds admin access to your books, invite them to your workspace and ask them to connect, or use one of the fallbacks below.

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Connect

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How long the first load takes

For QuickBooks Online and Xero, your three most recent complete months load first, so Ari can start working. The rest of your history, from January 1 of last year through today, follows in the background. To bring in older years, ask Ari for a full-history import later; see Re-import past months. During the load, cfo.ai copies your books into its data warehouse. Then it adds saved queries that turn them into your Model’s income statement and balance sheet, such as QuickBooks Profit & Loss and QuickBooks Balance Sheet. See How connected data reaches your Model.

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What to do while it loads

You can keep working, and you do not need to stay on the page.

• Start planning now. Ari can start a forecast from what you tell it and from labeled estimates. When your records land, have Ari rebuild the forecast on them so they take the place of those estimates; see Replace estimates with your real numbers.
• Do not reconnect or connect the source again to speed things up. Signing in again does not change how fast the data loads, and cfo.ai does not offer Reconnect while a sync is running.

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Check that the data is ready

Ari posts in the chat when the first sync finishes or fails. A connection you started from a chat reports to that chat. While your workspace is new, a connection you start from the sidebar reports to your most recent chat. In the sidebar, the orange dot disappears when the data is in. Point at the row: the card reads Synced and shows Last synced. You can also ask:

Check whether QuickBooks finished syncing and tell me which months are available.

Ari names the periods that loaded, such as January 2025 to September 2026. Then compare one closed month with your books before you rely on the numbers; see Check that your numbers match your books.

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Connect more than one company

If you run several companies or entities (multi-entity), connect each one as its own connection. A workspace can hold more than one QuickBooks Online company, Xero organisation, or NetSuite account, and each connection uses its own plan slot. Rillet allows one connection per workspace, and that connection brings in every subsidiary. To add another company, open the connection manager, select Add another on the source’s card, and sign in to the next company. QuickBooks Online, Xero, and Rillet statement rows carry an Entity column, which names the company or subsidiary, and a Currency column. When a second company of the same system loads, such as a second QuickBooks Online company, its accounts and entity join the first company’s Dimensions. You can then report on each company and on the group. Companies in different systems, such as one in QuickBooks Online and one in Xero, do not share Dimensions on their own. To combine them, or to line up two different charts of accounts, see Consolidate entities. You cannot connect the same QuickBooks company or Xero organisation twice. If you sign in to one the workspace already holds, the card reads [Company] is already connected.

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If you cannot connect

• If your system is not in the directory, such as QuickBooks Desktop or QuickBooks Enterprise, export a general ledger, or a monthly profit and loss and balance sheet, and upload it as a CSV. A general ledger with a date, an account, and an amount on each row gives Ari the most to work with. Check the integrations directory first, because Sage Intacct, Acumatica, Zoho Books, and many other systems are there.
• If you are not an admin in the accounting system, invite the person who is, or export the reports yourself and upload them.
• If your numbers live in a spreadsheet model, attach it to a chat and import it.
• If the card shows Upgrade plan or Choose plan instead of Connect, your plan has no room, or the workspace has no trial or plan yet. A Premium badge means the source needs the Enterprise plan; a trial does not unlock it. The tooltip says what is missing, and Connection statuses and actions lists each message.

An upload does not refresh, so upload a new export each month until you can connect directly.

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If something goes wrong

If the sign-in window closes early, the card reads [Source] was not connected, such as QuickBooks Online was not connected. If the card adds a line about third-party cookies, allow them in your browser’s settings or open cfo.ai in a regular Chrome window first; see Setup not finished. Then select Try again; it reopens the same unfinished connection. If the connection shows a red triangle or an orange dot, point at it and use the action the card offers. Fix a connection that needs attention covers each one, and Connection statuses and actions lists every message.

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Related

• Integrations directory
• How connected data reaches your Model
• Replace estimates with your real numbers
• Check that your numbers match your books